Wanderings in the Roman Campagna / by Rodolfo Lanciani.

  • Rodolfo Lanciani
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Wanderings in the Roman Campagna / by Rodolfo Lanciani. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    controversy, and I have left Antium more fascinated than ever by the “ bella incognita,” but no nearer to the knowledge of the truth. She is not a mystery, but a tangle of mysteries. Must we consider her lovely face a portrait from nature, or is it simply due to the fancy of the artist? The twig which lies on the plate, is it fiom a laurel or an olive branch ? Is she taking it up from the plate or laying it down upon it ? T he roll of thick stuff near the rim of the plate, is it a sacrificial band, or a scroll of parchment, or a strap of leather ? The little claws which are seen near the twig, do they belong to a pet animal, or are they the feet of a candelabrum 01 of an incense box (<acerra) ? What impression did the artist try to convey by treating her tunic and her shawl in such a peculiar style ? That the shawl was made of wool and the tunic of plaited raw silk ? Is the marble out of which she is carved Parian or Hymettian ? To which epoch and to which school must such a work be assigned ? No definite answer has been given to these queries, no subject more shrouded in mystery has ever perplexed the student. Nameless the maiden will enter the gates of the Museo Nazionale, and nameless she will remain m spite of all the attempts on our part to wrest her secrets from her. One point, however, seems certain: she looks, or she has been made intentionally to look, untidy; her hair is not dressed; her shawl has just been thrown carelessly on her shoulders; her shoes look more like slippers than sandals. Such a slovenly appearance, certainly intentional, has given rise to the following conjecture: that she may be a “penitent” girl, chosen by her tribe or by her fellow-citizens to appease the wrath of the gods and to avert with her offerings and prayers an impending calamity. If this is the case, it is